Christmas
by Kiki Warbler
Summary: When John's out of town, he panics about missing Christmas with Teddy


_A lonely road, crossed another cold state line_

_Miles away from those I love purpose hard to find_

_While I recall all the words you spoke to me_

_Can't help but wish that I was there_

_Back where I'd love to be, oh yeah_

John Hennigan studied the picture on his iTouch intently. He couldn't bear to be away from the man on the screen smiling back at him for another second. One more appearance, and he wouldn't be. Teddy had been in his life for so long, that it became impossible for him to live without him. He sighed and slid the music player into his jeans and then looked around the bus he was on. His friends were there, but the one person that mattered most wasn't. He took out his cell phone and called him, unaware of the time difference. He dialed the familiar number and smiled when it answered.

"Hello?"

A groggy, southern voice drawled. He smiled softly and looked at the watch he had on his wrist. He did a mental head slap, because he'd forgotten that on this promotional tour of Hong Kong, he was twelve hours ahead of the United States.

"Teddy?"

"Hey Johnny…"

He said, suddenly awake. Ted DiBiase reached across the bed to feel Johnny's space was still empty. Which meant that he had not yet made his way home to him. He sat up, the bed sheets and comforter wrapped around his waist. It was hard for him to be alone in the house with just the dogs for company.

"God Teddy, it's so good to hear your voice. I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, I was awake. I was just finishing 'Eclipse' anyway. I miss you."

"I miss you too, Teddy. I'll be home soon. I've got one more promotional stop to make, then I'm yours for two whole weeks."

"God, that makes it worth it. Brett and Leah are flying in tomorrow, so I'll have some company till you get home. Then we'll drive to my parents house, stay there for a couple days. Then make our way to LA to see your family."

"Let's put the Christmas plans on hold right now, Teddy. Let's forget about it. Let's just pretend for right now, that we're on the beach in Tahiti."

Teddy thought back to that night so many months ago when they gave their hearts, souls and names to each other. They were on the beach in Tahiti for Stephanie McMahon's second wedding to Paul Levesque, and they just did it. The wedding night wasn't all that bad either.

"Tahiti was a beautiful night. It beats being here. It's twelve degrees outside, and I swear it's snowing again."

Johnny could see the vision that Teddy was painting in his head. It was a beautiful snowy night the night before Christmas Eve, and the house was decorated in the way that only Teddy could do it. He knew that Riggs was probably huddled up in a corner somewhere, snoring away. All the familiarities of home, and that was the one place he truly wanted to be at that point.

"I wanna come home, so much."

"I know Shaman, but I promise you. Get through that appearance, get on three airplanes and come home to me."

"I will. I have to go, babe. I love you, so much Teddy."

"And I love you too, Johnny. Forever."

"And ever. Bye."

"Bye."

Teddy said, hanging up. He'd never been away from Johnny for this long, but when Stephanie sent him on the promotional tour, and sent Teddy home, he knew this separation would be hard. He didn't know it would be this hard. He sat there and sighed, knowing this lonely feeling would evaporate when Johnny came back. But dammit, he missed him so much. He lay back down in bed and cried.

_Dear God the only thing I ask of you is_

_To hold her when I'm not around_

_When I'm much too far away_

_We all need the person who can be true to you_

_But I left her when I found her_

_And now I wished I'd stayed_

'_Cause I'm lonely and I'm tired_

_I'm missing you again oh no_

_Once again_

Ted made sure everything was straight on the fireplace before his brother arrived. He'd been doing odd tasks since he'd gotten out of bed that morning to keep John off of his mind. He'd call when he got to Hong Kong International. He heard a car pull into the driveway, and he walked to the window. It was his brother and his brother's wife. Brett and Leah were his saving graces at that point, because he was going crazy without Johnny there with him. Brett walked to the door, and Ted opened it for him. He put on a happy face for his brother, but he could see right through it. After hugs and gifts and small talk, Brett and Ted made their way towards the kitchen while Leah went to take a nap. Ted got them a couple beers than sat down at the bar that John had put in.

"You look like shit, dude. What, you and Johnny break up already?"

"Dude, don't even fucking joke about that man! No, Johnny's on some bullshit promotional tour of Asia that Stephanie sent him on. He's been to Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and then Hong Kong. He's got almost twenty hours of flying ahead of him. It's still hard for me to be apart from him for this long. He's been gone a week. I know he's got to be exhausted. And now with all this traveling he's doing. He's not going to want to fly to LA. He won't want to make the two hour drive to mom and dad's."

"Then don't go to Mom and Dad's, Ted. Do you really think seeing Mike is that important? He's around a lot more now, sure. But he's still mad at you-"

Brett was cut off by the sound of a ringing phone. It was the house phone, and Ted stood up to get it. He checked the caller ID and it showed an international number. He picked it up right away, smiling.

"Johnny."

"Hello, Teddy. I'm at Hong Kong International now. I've got exactly forty minutes till the plane takes off. I'm at my gate. I'm flying from Hong Kong to Glasgow, Scotland. From Glasgow to London, from London to New York, from New York to you. Then we'll go to your parents place."

"We're not going to mom and dad's. You're going to be flying a lot. We're going to just stay right here, Johnny. And I've already cleared it with your parents too. We're staying here. Brett and Leah are too."

"Good, because I don't know just how much more flying I can take. Alright, I'm boarding now. I love you, Teddy. Forever."

"And ever, Johnny. Fly safe. Call me when you land in Glasgow."

"I will. Bye."

He said, hanging up. Ted walked back over to Brett and sat down. Brett grinned at his brother and patted him on the back.

"So, when are you two taking the plunge?"

He asked, and that's when Ted smiled. He knew that nobody had known that he and John had already had a commitment ceremony. He stood up and got another couple beers, then began telling his story.

_There's nothing here for me on this barren road_

_There's no one here while the city sleeps_

_And all the shops are closed_

_Can't help but think of all the times I had with you_

_Pictures and some memories will have to help me through, oh yeah_

"Attention passengers, this is the final boarding call for flight 7320 from Glasgow, Scotland to London England is now boarding at gate twelve."

John heard as he ran to get his flight. He'd gone to the bathroom to make the phone call, and missed the first boarding call. He got to the gate, and handed the lady at the gate his boarding pass. She smiled at him and scanned his boarding pass nicely.

"Thank you, Mr. Hennigan, have a safe flight."

She said, as he made his way towards his seat. He got there with seconds to spare, and sat in his seat next to a woman with braces and horrible hair. He fell asleep instantly, and smiled when the announcement woke him up.

"Ladies and gentleman this is your stewardess speaking. Welcome to London, England. The time is eight p.m. Those of you continuing on this flight from London, to New York City, please remain seated. We'll be refueling and then loading up, then we'll be on our way. Thank you for flying Air London, and please have a nice day."

The stewardess said, hanging up the airphone. John took his credit card out of his wallet, swiped it and picked up the phone. He dialed the number and prayed that he'd pick up.

"DiBiase residence, this is Leah."

"Leah, hi. It's John. Is Teddy around?"

"Sure is, Johnny. Let me get him."

She said, and John waited on the line. He started fiddling with a fray on his t-shirt when he heard Ted's voice come to the telephone. He was laughing, and John realized just how much he missed it.

"Hello?"

"Merry Christmas."

"Johnny….where are you?"

"Just touched down in London. Getting ready to take off to New York. I miss you."

"Miss you too, love. You'll be home sometime tomorrow…"

"Yeah. God, why didn't I just tell Stephanie, no? This sucks, missing Christmas with you. It's our first Christmas as a married couple, and I should have said, no."

"Shh…shh…we'll have all the time in the world to celebrate our Christmas, okay babe? Now, you come home to me in one piece."

"I will…what are you up to?"

"Mom and dad drove up. Iron Mike's here, too. He and I have been going at it. I keep wishing that you were here with me."

"Mike's there. Babe, I'm sorry. Look, I have to go. I'll be in New York soon enough, so please don't get arrested, and I'll see you soon. I love you."

"I love you too, baby. Always."

"I know."

He said, hanging up. John wanted to get him a gift, but it was too late. The plane had started boarding. He'd get Ted a Christmas present when he landed in New York. His heart was shattering in a million pieces because he wasn't there. He'd give Stephanie a piece of his mind later. He took his iPod Touch out, and looked at the picture. The nice old lady that sat next to him as the plane loaded smiled at the picture.

"He's a beautiful guy."

"Thank you. That's my husband."

"You two make a beautiful couple."

She said, going back to her book. That made John feel amazing and he put the headphones on, and listened to the music take him away. It was going to be a long flight.

_Dear God the only thing I ask of you is_

_To hold her when I'm not around_

_When I'm much too far away_

_We all need that person who can be true to you_

_I left her when I found her _

_And now I wished I'd stayed_

'_Cause I'm lonely and I'm tired_

_I'm missing you again, oh no_

_Once again_

_Some search, never finding a way_

_Before long, they waste away_

_I found you, something told me to stay_

_I gave in to selfish ways_

_And how I miss someone to hold_

_When hope begins to fade_

"Welcome to New York City."

He was finally on American soil. Thank god, he thought to himself. He was only four hours away from Ted. Four hours. On Christmas Day. He prayed to god that the snow would let up, and he'd be able to fly out. He sat there waiting and waiting, and then they made the announcement.

"Due to the weather delays, we are cancelling all flights out of New York City. Sorry for the inconvenience."

"Mother fucker!"

He yelled. It was Christmas Day, and the only thing he wanted to do was go home and see his husband. That was it. He felt like he was near tears. No, he did want to cry. That's all he wanted was to do. So he did. He started to cry. Nothing was going right. The airport in London lost his luggage. So, now he had to spend time on the phone finding a hotel for the night, and getting set up to see Teddy. He found that there were a few rooms left at the Ritz Carlton and he booked one. He trudged towards the hotel when his cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Baby…my god, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Teddy….they closed the airport down. There's a blizzard on the East Coast. I'm going to the fucking Ritz to get a bath. Then I've got to call Heathrow to see if they've located my luggage yet. And I'm going to make it home, eventually. But I just really wanted to be there tonight."

"I know honey, I know. But you just need to relax, calm down, and think about how soon you'll be in my arms again."

And that was all Johnny could think about as he got to the hotel. He walked in and hung up with Ted, and then got his room situation all settled. He got on the elevator and saw dozens of candles lit. He looked at the door and then back into the room. He stepped in and called out.

"Hello?"

And suddenly, Teddy poked his head out. He had a grin on his face, and then he stepped out of the room. He walked to the doorway where a stunned John was standing. Then he started sobbing again. Teddy walked out and pulled John into a hug.

"Shh…shhh Johnny, it's fine. It's fine now."

"I know. I'm just so…happy to see you, Teddy Bear. I am. I can't believe you're here. How did you get here?"

"I got here just before the storm hit. I am here to give you me. I knew you were having a tough time, so…I don't want you to cry anymore."

"And I won't now that I see you."

_A lonely road, crossed another cold state line_

_Miles away from those I love, purpose hard to find_

_Dear God, the only thing I ask of you is_

_To hold her when I'm not around _

_When I'm much to far away_

_We all need that person who can be true to you_

_I left her when I found her_

_And now I'd wished I'd stayed_

'_Cause I'm lonely and I'm tired_

_I'm missing you again, oh no_

_Once again_

"This is the best Christmas present anyone could've ever given me."

John said, as he rolled over and snuggled closer to Ted in the bed. He sighed softly and knew at this point, he couldn't be any more happier than he was at that point. Teddy kissed him softly and they picked up where they left off a couple of hours before.

_-The End_

_**A/N: Song used: Dear God by Avenged Sevenfold**_


End file.
